Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Star Wars Comics: Poe Dameron #3 & Darth Vader #21 Recap/Review

I wish I liked the Star Wars: Poe Dameron comic. When it was
announced they were launching a series based on the ace fighter pilot of the
Resistance I was all for it. I couldn’t
wait to read the story that would tie into the events leading to The Force
Awakens. The first three issues have left me disappointed. I haven’t liked any
of the interactions, new characters, or the overall story they have told thus
far.

The first three issues have lead Poe to a world where Lor
San Tekka lived. Poe is trying to hunt him down because Leia thinks he has
information about the whereabouts of Luke (Yes I know you know this if you are
reading this) The people of the world are part of a strange religion worshiping
a giant egg which they think has the savior of the galaxy inside. The First order
follow Poe and his squad of Resistance fighters to the world and attack. The
new First Order character introduced, Terek, is interesting, but still didn’t
ring true as a either an old Imperial or someone part of the First Order. Terek
has a very evil James Bond villain vibe to him, which could work, but I didn’t
like him in the framework of this story.

At the start of the third issue Poe is captured by Terek and
his squad is having to run and hide against a squad of Tie Fighters. Terek
orders the egg the people are protecting fired upon with flame throwers and it
starts to hatch. It hatches a Godzilla like creature which then starts
attacking throwing everything into chaos. Another Godzilla like creature
somehow shows up and fights back the new one that hatched.

Maybe I need to go back and read the first two issues,
because I have no idea where the new monster came from. The art and the story
was hard to follow, and it didn’t give a clear explanation for the action
happening in the story. I am fairly new to reading comics, but the panel
artwork in this issue is some of the worst I’ve seen. Not the actual art, but
just in how it advances the story. I would think the art in the comic should
help explain the action happening, but I was lost.

The person writing the comic, Charles Soule, doesn’t help
either. He seems to be trying to write things that sound like Star Wars instead
of just writing an interesting story within the Star Wars Universe. The interaction
of the pilots during the dogfight is comically bad. Soule introduces a random
love story element between two pilots in the middle of the third issues which
wasn’t mentioned in the previous two. It has no bearing on the story being
told, and it made no sense to be added, other than to just fill up a speech bubble.
The pilots also don’t seem to know what they are doing, deciding on one course
of action in one panel then changing to the complete opposite course of action
a few panels later.

This third issue seems to close out this brief story arc for
the comic. Hopefully the next part of the story is an improvement over the
first three editions. I’ll keep buying the comic, but it quickly went from something
highly anticipated to something I don’t care if I read or not.

The Darth Vader comic has been up and down in quality. The
first five to six issues where fantastic, then it took a dip when it introduced
the weird cyborg warriors. It then picked back up when the Vader Down crossover
event was introduced. The last few issues have been on the decline again,
because Vader has been dealing with the cyborgs. They have been better than
when they were first introduced, but still don’t seem to fit into the Star Wars
universe.

The twenty first issue of Vader seems to hint at the run
finishing on a strong note. Vader has tracked down Doctor Cylo, who created the
cyborgs, and has been plotting against the Emperor the entire time. Vader finds
a way onto Cylo’s command ship and looks to start wreaking havoc the only way
Darth Vader can. When the comic has succeeded it has been when Vader is doing
incredible things with the force. Stopping photon torpedoes, or taking down an
entire battalion of rebellion troops. It adds to the mythos of how terrifying
and devastating Vader can be. The end of issue shows Vader having to face
another fight. We know he wins, but the way he wins is what I want to read
about.

The part of the Vader comic which has never really interested
me is the Doctor Aphra storyline. She worked well in the Star Wars comic going
up against Leia, and then teaming up with her, but she just seems out of place
in the Vader comic. She has never seemed like a character Vader would team up
with and use. She is painted as an evil Han Solo type. Someone who is out for
herself, and can be ruthless. However, for me, there always seems to be a sense
of someone with a good heart underneath her exterior. This might be me just reading
something into her character that isn’t there, but I keep expecting a turn down
a more righteous path for her.

She allows herself to be taken capture in this issue and to
be transported back to Vader. I am not sure how I want her story to end in the
comic. Vader at this point is still ruthless and killing everyone who either
screws up or gets in his way. Aphra is a loose end and should be taken out, but
could he spare her and this be the first sign of Anakin coming back to the
surface? I’m not sure which way I want the story to end, but this is the most
intrigued I’ve been on where the character of Aphra is heading.